Svigals Partners

2014 was a positive planning year for the new Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Consigli Construction oversaw the demolition of the old Sandy Hook School in the fall of 2013, and by 2014 plans for the new building were taking shape, following community input and work between the town and design team, led by Svigals + Partners.

I attended the public meeting on June 4th at the NHS lecture hall where Svigals + Partners unveiled their ostentatious plans for the new SHS. I was truly disheartened by the presentation, sitting for almost an hour while the project lead tried to explain how Sandy Hook got its’ name, how we are all part of the Earth and that we are all part of the water in her best attempt to sell us their next colossal boondoggle.

That observation from architect Barry Svigals of Svigals + Partners came during an interview ahead of a community information meeting revealing the latest Sandy Hook School developments set for Thursday, June 5, after the print edition of The Newtown Bee went to press.

Ahead of an expected June 5 town presentation on the plans for Sandy Hook Elementary School, representatives of Svigals + Partners unveiled some of the first renderings of the new building during a Public Building & Site and Board of Education joint meeting Wednesday, May 14.

Barry Svigals, a principal at Svigals + Partners, says he has derived much inspiration for conceptual designs of the new Sandy Hook Elementary School from the natural environment of its site, as well as from many ideas revealed during meetings he and his team have arranged with parents, school staffers, leaders, and other community members.

A week after presenting the first designs for the new Sandy Hook Elementary School to members of the Public Building and Site Commission and the Board of Education, representatives of Svigals + Partners were back with more concepts on Wednesday, February 19.

Public Building and Site Commission and Board of Education members described one of three design schemes for the new Sandy Hook Elementary School as elegant, efficient, and simple. The plans were presented by Svigals + Partners Tuesday, February 11, at a joint meeting of the two boards.

Long before the first environmental contractors started reporting higher than expected levels of lead, asbestos, and PCBs in construction debris at Sandy Hook School, a panel of town officials and residents in a subsequent referendum had already endorsed razing and replacing the aging elementary school building.

Representatives of Svigals + Partners, Consigli Construction, and Diversified Project Management attended the Wednesday, November 6, Board of Education meeting to update board members on the plans for the new Sandy Hook School.

Newtown’s Public Building and Site Commission (PBSC) introduced the design and engineering teams that will oversee the pending remediation and demolition of the existing Sandy Hook School, as well as coordinating the new school building project as it rolls out in the coming months. The panel also heard brief reports from project managers Aaron Krueger of Consigli Construction and Julia McFadden of Svigals + Partners.